NMR and MRI are among the most widely used spectroscopic techniques, finding uses in fields ranging from chemical analysis to medical imaging. One problem faced by the user of NMR/MRI systems is the incompatibility of systems produced by different manufacturers. The amount of RF power needed to effect a desired change in the magnetization of a sample inside an NMR spectrometer depends only on the magnetic field strength and the gyromagnetic ratio of the nucleus being probed. Even in the simplest case of two systems with identical magnets and systems being probed, where the RF pulses in principle should be identical, one cannot in general use a controller intended for one manufacturer's instrument with a magnet supplied by another manufacturer.
Several devices are known in the art for providing “universal” RF sources for magnetic resonance systems. Typical devices of this sort are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,120, U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2005/0043612, and China Pat. Appl. No. CN200410099267. All of these devices disclose hardware to produce the RF signal that excites the change in magnetization of the sample inside the instrument's magnetic field.
None of these devices address the main reason for these incompatibilities, namely, that the digital signal sent from the console to the various signal generators (e.g. those that deliver the magnetization RF pulses, gradient field pulses, etc.) in order to produce a desired analog output to the spectrometer is not uniform across manufacturers.
Thus, a universal console for a magnetic resonance instrument that would be able to provide an input to the spectrometer electronics that yields desired analog outputs regardless of the manufacturer of the spectrometer hardware is a long-felt, but as yet unmet need.